Joao Felix has hinted at the soft spot he has for Liverpool ahead of Atletico Madrid's Champions League clash with the Reds.
The 21-year-old is set to feature when Jurgen Klopp's men come to town on Tuesday evening looking to extend their lead at the top of Group B.
Felix, who played at Anfield when Los Rojiblancos beat Liverpool in both legs of a 2020 round-of-16 tie, has spoken highly of the Merseyside club in the build up to the game.
In a recent pre-match interview, the Portuguese starlet was asked by ¡Qué Golazo! and CBS Sports what the difference between playing at his home stadium and in front of the famous Kop.
"The passion, I think, is the same" Felix, who cost Atletico £106million to bring in from Benfica two years ago, responded.
"It's a little bit different in Anfield because the people are closer to the pitch, but the passion is the same."
He went on to say: "I like to play in a full stadium with passionate fans. Even if they're not my fans," as he indicated his positive opinion on the Liverpool faithful.
The Wanda Metropolitano was rocking for Diego Simeone and co's last outing, a 2-0 victory over Barcelona, keeping them within touching distance of rivals Real at the top of the table.
And Felix, who played 72 minutes, said: "It felt great. Very good.
"A feeling that we haven't had for so long.
"It was special, it felt good, and we needed all the supporters in the stadium, as many as possible.
"It was important and I felt so good to play for them."
Los Rojiblancos are hoping to balance retaining their title as kings of Spain with their European exploits.
The La Liga champions having reached the Champions League final twice in recent years, bitterly losing both to Real via extra-time and penalties in 2014 and 2016.
Hosting the Premier League giants comes next, with Simeone's team two points behind the Reds after two games.
Felix knows repeating their 1-0 home win against them in February 2020 will be tough task, adding: "We expect a very strong team. What we all know.
"It's Liverpool. They have a great team, especially their attack, it is great, but we are prepared for them and we will do everything possible to win.
"Mohamed Salah is dangerous, Sadio Mane is dangerous. [Diogo] Jota is dangerous.
"In the backline, they are dangerous too so it will be a difficult game."
He concluded: "The pressure that they put on can maybe give us a lot of space to play, but maybe not.
"We just need to be prepared for both situations."
